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Vinted

Vinted buyer says the item never arrived. Tracking says it did.

This is a different problem from a parcel that turned up empty, and the evidence that answers it is different too. Here is what actually decides it.

By Mason Hughes at ParcelProof, which records how a parcel was packed and opened so a seller can answer “it arrived empty”. This guide is written to be useful whether or not you ever use it.

Last checked 10 August 2026. Courier policies change; always confirm on the courier’s own site before you rely on a deadline.

A not-received claim is the one most sellers meet first, and it is the one where the instinct to argue does the most damage. The buyer says nothing came. The tracking says delivered. Both of those can be true at once, and that is the whole difficulty.

A delivered scan is a statement that a parcel reached an address. It is not a statement that it reached a person. Couriers under time pressure leave parcels in porches, bin stores and behind gates, and the scan looks identical either way.

The first 48 hours

  • Pull the full delivery record, not the status. Ask the courier in writing for the GPS coordinates, the delivery photograph and the signature or safe-place note, quoting the tracking number.
  • Ask the buyer to check with neighbours and any safe place before anything else. A surprising number resolve here, and asking politely keeps them cooperating.
  • Do not accuse. Once a buyer feels accused they stop helping, and their cooperation is the cheapest evidence available to you.

What actually decides these

Not your account of packing it. Not the buyer’s account of watching for it. A not-received case turns almost entirely on what the courier recorded, which is why the delivery record matters so much more here than in a contents dispute.

A GPS point at the buyer’s postcode with a photograph of their own front door is close to decisive. A bare “delivered” with no coordinates and no image is close to worthless. Most sellers never find out which one they have, because they never ask.

Two clocks, running at different speeds

  1. 1

    The Vinted investigation

    Vinted holds the buyer’s payment while it looks into the case. Nothing is released to you and nothing goes back to them until it concludes. Supply what you have, factually, and let it run.

  2. 2

    Your courier claim

    Separate, and yours to open, with its own deadline that does not wait for Vinted. Evri asks the sender to claim within a recommended 28 days on UK services. Delivery scan data is not retained forever either, so requesting it late can mean requesting nothing. The Evri process is here.

Reducing how often this happens

  • Use a service with a delivery photograph as standard on anything worth more than the postage upgrade. The photo is the artefact that settles arguments.
  • Prefer locker or shop drop-off collection for higher value items. Collection from a locker produces a much cleaner record than a doorstep.
  • Keep the drop-off receipt. It is the one piece of paper that proves the parcel entered the network at all.
  • For three-figure items, record the pack as well. It does not answer a not-received claim on its own, but the moment the story changes from “nothing came” to “it came and it was empty”, and it does change, you are in a completely different conversation.

Common questions

Tracking says delivered. Am I covered?

Not automatically. A delivered scan tells a platform the parcel reached an address, not that it reached the right person. Where a courier records a GPS point, a photograph at the door or a signature, that scan carries far more weight than a bare status change.

What if it was left in a safe place the buyer did not choose?

This is the weakest position to be in. If the buyer never authorised a safe place, a parcel left in a bin store is treated as undelivered in most claim processes. That is a courier problem rather than a buyer problem, and the courier claim is the one worth opening.

Can I refuse to refund if tracking shows delivered?

It is not really your decision. Vinted holds the buyer's payment while it investigates and decides the outcome itself. Refusing to engage does not protect the money; supplying evidence quickly is what changes the picture.

Is item not received more common than an empty parcel?

Considerably. Most sellers will meet a not-received claim long before they meet a contents claim, and the evidence that answers it is different: the not-received case turns on delivery data, not on what you packed.

Sources: Vinted’s published help pages on parcel issues, and Evri’s claims guidance. Policies and timescales change, so confirm on the operator’s own site before relying on a deadline.

Sources

Links checked 14 August 2026. If one has moved, tell us and we will fix it.